"Man was born free!"

Majd and his family came to Canada as refugees. They are originally from Homs, Syria.

Majd lived a peaceful and normal life back at home. He was married, had three kids and a good job. Things changed though in 2011 as a civil war broke out in Syria.

People were kidnapped and massacred and cities bombed. Majd and his family were forced to flee with thousands of others from their city. They left in the middle of the night, barefoot and in their pajamas. Today, more than twelve million Syrians have lost their homes and more than 250,000 have lost their lives which is half of the Syrian population.

Young and old continue to starve, lose their belongings and live in danger.

Majd and his family crossed nine counties, moving from city to city, to get to the Syrian-Jordanian Border. “It wasn´t easy to get to the border,” said Majd.

Anas, Majd´s oldest son, was hit by four flying bullets which two are still in his chest.Fleeing the country is not only dangerous and expensive but also full of stress, loss and disappointments. When refugees arrive to their destination, challenges still occur. They are required to complete complicated applications without knowing the language or people.

The family has been living in Canada for several months now. Majd feels very fortunate and thankful. He was able to accomplish something not many people have been able to. He safely brought his whole family to Canada. Nobody is missing and everybody is still alive!

It is hard for the family, especially for the parents to settle in their new home and to learn the language. “It´s hard to understand people on the streets. They speak [different] dialects. Usually we take our youngest son with us, [as] he learns so fast,” said Majd.

He is happy though for the safe environment and the roof over his family's head.